Next June 3 will be the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the first Chinese in Cuba, an event that will be commemorated with different and varied activities.
Teresa María Li Cecilio, director of the Chinatown Budget Unit in Havana, made it known at a press conference held today in Havana. To this end, Chinatown, the Confucius Institute of the University of Havana, the Cuban School of Wushu, the Casino Chung Wah Federation, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Cuba and the Havana government will join forces.
The Cuban Embassy in China will also join the actions to commemorate the arrival of the Chinese coolies to the Cuban capital in 1847, said Li Cecilio.
The director pointed out that Regla will be the territory where the activities will begin. They will begin on June 3 with a symbolic landing at the town’s mouth, the site where researchers have determined that the first Chinese arrived in Cuba.
The presence of Ma Hui, Chinese ambassador to Cuba, is remarkable in the programming of these festivities, since he will participate not only in the placement of a floral offering before the commemorative plaque of the date. He will also give a virtual keynote address on Cuba-China relations and their imprint on history and culture together with his counterpart Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban ambassador to China.
María Teresa Montes de Oca Choy, professor of Asian History at the University of Havana, stressed that the 175 years of Chinese presence are a reason for jubilation because they knew how to integrate into the new customs and merge with Cuban culture. “They brought us their culture and teachings and helped to establish the Cuban identity,” she stressed.
A theoretical event will be held that, in a first stage, will bring together a cycle of lectures, both face-to-face and virtual, dedicated to problems such as the participation of coolies in independence deeds and the experience of the Confucius Institute in teaching the Chinese language. .
